Monday, May 7, 2012

Dainty dishes from a Dainty Chef

I was chatting on facebook with Jennifer of Chasing Food Dreams and she asked if I would like to join her to taste nyonya food by our own local chef, Chef Debbie Teoh, Malaysia’s well regarded culinary expert for Peranakan cuisine. What do you think my answer would be? It is a YES, of course! LOL! I love Nyonya food and moreover, it will be an apportunity to meet Jennifer of Chasing Food Dreams in person (If you guys want to know what is most happening in KL, head over to her blog) . We wanted to meet up for several times in the past but it did not happen due to our own commitments. It was great that we finally met and had a good time together.

I was there half an hour early so I went to the Klix lounge to enjoy a glass of white wine. They have good house white. That was to reward Aunty Lucy (me) for breezing through the traffic and did not lost her way. YAY!!

At 6.30pm, I walked down the escalator to the restaurant. Alice Yong of Jom Makan was there already. It was nice to meet her again. I met her the first time at Millesime. Not long after, Monica of The Yum List, her hubby and other bloggers arrived. Samples of food that would be served at the dinner later were all layed out on a table for photography. They all looked mouth-watering delicious. Look at the delicious spread. Don't you wish you were there with us? LOL!

Nasi Ulam and Sambal Terung, an aromatic spicy rice was served as the first dish to wet our appetite.

Itek Tim, a soup with a discreet saltish a slightly peppery flavor.

Ayam Buah Keluak - To me, this is the most special dish of all.

The buah keluak had a uniquie flavor, nutty and yet not over powering.

Terung dengan Sambal Udang Kering, a simple dish but a very flavorful.

Ulam Platter - another one of my favorites.

The sambal was heavenly.

Otak-Otak - This was quite different from those I had in the past.

There were chunks of fish, prawn and squid inside coconut and egg custard.

glutinous rice layer, it was a taro layer on top of cocounut pandan flour layer.

I could not stop eating, I think I had three. LOL!

If you guys would like to taste authentic Nyonya cuisine, you might want to indulge in the Buffet Lunch or Dinner or weekend Hi-Tea at Chatz Brasserie between 11 May and 10 June. For such great food, the price are reasonably priced. RM62.00++ for Buffet Luch, RM82++ for Buffet Dinner and only RM59++ for Hi-Tea. I suggest that you make reservation early, I was told the tables will be taken up pretty fast given that Debbie returned on popular demand.

It was a great pleasure to meet Chef Debbie Teoh in person and sample all her pretty and dainty dishes and desserts.

Having great pride in her food, Debbie took time to explain to us how the dishes were prepared. If only you know the amount of effort and personal attention she put in, from selecting quality ingredients to not forgetting the details in cooking the dishes, you will understand why they all tasted superior. I had a wonderful meal, one that make me crave for more. Not only did we had a scrumptious meal, we had a surprise at the end of the meal. Each of us got to take home a Nyonya Bachang.

The night itself, my Quay Lo sampled the Bachang and he loved it so much that he asked for more. I was rather surprised because he was not a big fan of Bachang. I told him I would take a class from the chef and make more for him next time. I learned that if we can gather a group of 12 persons, we can get Debbie to open a class for us. Anyone interested?

Ah!!! She must be from Penang - the otak-otak there is like that, different from Muar's or Singapore's. Many do not like the egg custard in it. I don't mind - I quite enjoyed those that I had in Penang but on the whole, I prefer ours - the ones at Payung.

I saw this in Isaac's post... Can't say much based on the photos (which do not seem very alluring, I'm afraid) unless I get to sample the food myself. I wonder if she runs a nyonya restaurant of her own or not.

Arthur, if Aunty Lucy did remember correctly what she told me, she is from Malacca. I don't think she runs a restaurant now. Nevermind, I learn from her and when you come to KL, I cook for Nyonya food for you. When are you coming? hehe

I'm drooling! I've missed good nyonya dishes. Some are so tedious to make, or need more mouths to feed, I've just given up on homemade. This is torture! Now you've got me craving for otak-otak ... gotta make some soon.

What an excellent restaurant review, Veronica. BTW-a little correction on the first top statement. It's "wet" the appetite ("vet" is short for veteran)...a small typo error!

The dishes are amazing...never even heard or seen any of these amazing exotic delicious time consuming dishes. Your photos of each and every one of them are fabulous, and such an amazing talented chef, to be admired!Thanks for sharing your special event...you are one lucky lady to be able to be part of all these amazing events.Hugs,

how i envy you!! always go makan here and there..you know ipoh has not got much international or cuisine of this kind..want to eat?? cook ourselves or drive 2 hours first to eat! see one day if i'm in kl and free, i will go look for the place and if you're free better still, you take me there! wait i go tailor make one kebaya first!

Come Lena, you are welcome to stay with me if you don't mind my humble place. We can go makan makan till we both drop. LOL! No need go tailor make the kebaya blouse lah, I take you go buy off the rack.

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Before I was married to my "Quay Lo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Cantonese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.

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